Reunited for a While

Normally I post two entries for the weekend that we have Lucy here and the girls are altogether, but this week with Lucy not being here so long and Emily and Catherine being away for most of Saturday I have decided to just do the one blog post.

It was lovely and sunny when I woke up on Saturday that I noticed that all the green had finally gone form the birch tree in the garden and despite the sunshine their was that nip in the air that tells you winter is just round the corner. Looking around the garden you can see the leaves on the ground like like a carpet of many colours all rich in tone and hue.

After a quick coffee and a shave it was off to Oakham to pick up the first one of the children to return home. Lucy was in fine form when I got her and started chatting away. It is amazing how much she has changed in just a few days and she seemed so much more grown up than she did just a few days ago. 

The morning for Lucy was spent playing in the garden on her tricycle and in the house playing with her toys, especially her wooden trains which was still set up for last time she was here. It never got put away in the rush to get off to Wales. As we played I got an e-mail that changed the weekend plans. 

It seems there is a family gathering going on at her Grandmothers and Lucy's presence was requested at the event. I know from what Lucy had told me that she has a new cousin who was born last week so it came as no surprise that her family from Essex would come up to see the baby. I wasn't too put out about the request although it means that a family Sunday lunch has gone out the window and I don't get to see her as much as I would like, but her family is important to me too.

After Lucy had some food we headed off in the afternoon to get Emily and Catherine from the services on the A1. They had been with their mother for the second week of half term. Lucy fell asleep in the car on the way there, which I expected as she seemed tired after she ate. I wasn't to concerned that she wouldn't sleep at night as i knew she would burn off the extra energy when she saw her sisters and I was right she was so pleased to see them and gave them loads of cuddles and kisses.

On the way home we popped into the supermarket. It was there that I realised I didn't know what to get Lucy for lunch the next day so I tried to cover all bases and got something that could be stretched or shrunk depending if Lucy was eating with us. 

Soon we were home and the real fun began for the girls as the settled down to some serious play while I got a quick tea together. At one point Emily left as for a Halloween Birthday party and Lucy was left to play with Catherine and watch television with her snuggled together under the same blanket. They looked really sweet.

When Emily returned after a super party with a pumpkin for Halloween there was a little more time left for some play before it was time for Lucy to go to bed. Eventually bedtime came and Lucy went off for bath, stories and kisses and cuddles from everyone she knows. Finally with Lucy in bed we all settled down to watch the X-Factor before the girls joined her in the land of nod.

In contrast to Saturday morning, Sunday started misty and grey. It was Lucy that was up first and not being a respecter of clock changes it was still quite early when she woke, but at least it was light. The first person she decided to wake this morning was Catherine who came to tell me that they were both up.

Once dressed I went downstairs to join them in the family room for a bit as they settled down together to watch some television and wake up before breakfast. It lovely the way Catherine doesn't hog the TV ad let's Lucy watch the programmes she likes before she goes off to play. It is only then that Catherine changes the channel to watch CBBC. 

Emily was the last of the children to rise. She must have been very tired after being with her mother for even when she did get up it took her a long time to wake up fully. While Emily was waking up Catherine and Lucy played around her. I'm not sure what they were playing but it all sounded rather fun from the living room.

For lunch we had traditional English breakfast with all the trimmings. It was something that was easy to cook and it was really yummy. Lucy loves eggs and tomatoes and managed to do her best to a acquire and eat as much of them as she could from reluctant donators. It might not have been as good as Sunday roast but they all seemed to enjoy it.

After lunch Lucy went doggie walking with Catherine before getting ready to go her family party at her Grandmothers. I was going to dress her in party clothes for the event but I didn't have a pair of tights that went with the party outfit I have for her. So off she went in the clothes she came in with her little bag of bits, her clean blanket that she loves so much and some bags of sweets for everyone. It was one of the hardest drop off I have done. When I got home the girls were out on their bicycles somewhere around the village cycling in the passing shower. It was quiet in the house again with Lucy and the girls gone and for some reason I missed them all more than ever.

Thankfully it wasn't long before Emily returned with Charlie and once again the house was full of sound that broke the silence. It was just what I needed make the place feel alive again. Although a lot of the time I love the silence of the house today it wasn't something I wanted at that point. They both played on the X box together for the rest of the afternoon eventually being joined by Catherine when she got home from riding her bicycle.

At five Catherine's maths teacher came round to do an extra lesson to help her out with her stats at the end of the year. She is doing really well now and although she doesn't like spending an hour of her weekend at home doing lessons the extra work is paying off.

Being the 31st of October and Halloween the girls had an appointment with sweets after Catherine's lesson. Soon they were all dressed up and ready to hit the village scouting for sweets around the many decorated houses. They had a lovely time and filled there bags that will keep them going in sweets for ages and ages. All to soon they were in bed and the house fell quite again and it was time to do some work.

This weekend was the last time they are altogether for over a week. Catherine is off on Holiday on Monday and won't see Lucy until a week after her birthday on Tuesday. I'm going to miss her while she is gone as much as I miss any of them when they are not with me. I still find it hard even after all this time. It's hard not being with the people you love. One thing I know that Catherine will gain from going away is that she come back that little bit more grown up like Emily did from her week away with the school when she was in year six. Of course she will have a super time too.

X-Factor - Act of the Week

What a surprising week and what a hard one to pick the best act. Firstly two of the acts I expected so much from, Aiden and Matt, really failed to make and impression and then the two best acts were so close it was impossible really to separate them.

These two acts were Rebbeca and Cher both of which I feel gave their own personal performance of the series so far. In the end I have gone for Rebecca and that not taking anything away fro Cher who was equally as good. Both had excellent song choices and both were so moving. The only criteria I have used to separate them is constancy throughout the series and Rebecca has been so good week after week that she deserves this weeks "Act of the week"

The others that are worth mentioning as really doing well this week is Paige and the band "One Direction" both really did well and the boy band improves from week to week, they really could be something big. 

More Music

Music has always been important to me in many ways as I have said before. Recently I have found a number of new artists to listen to and have revisited some of my old favourites again. Here are some of the more recent discoveries that I have found in the last few days whose music I going to explore.

The frist of these artists is called "Nickel Creek" a American progressive acoustic trio from California. They formed together since 1989 and have had moderate success being nominated for a number of awards over the years and have had two albums go gold. In 2007 they disbanded after a farewell tour after working together for 18 years. In all they recorded a total of five albums. The song featured her is from their third album.

The next artist is Natalie Merchant an american singer/song writer from New York. Her early career was spent as being part of the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs which she left so she could write and perform her own material. In 1995 she released her first solo album which was an instant success selling over 5 million copies. It was three years until her second album was released and by then she really missed the boat and she never again achieved the success of the first album. The song featured here is amazing and comes from her second album. 

The last artist is the American rock band Vertical Horizon from Washington DC. First formed in 1991 they have released five albums in total, with the most successful being the third album form which the song featured here is taken. It went Platinum in the US and Gold in Canada back in 1999. Since then there sales have decreased but the band have never given up and are still recording and performing today.

At the moment lyrics are just as an important as the music itself and all three of the songs I have chosen have wonderful lyrics. What I find at the moment is the music I'm listing to has more melody than once was the case, maybe that is where I'm at. I'm not sure if these artist will be firm favourites or if it is just these songs I like but they are worth some time and who knows I might discover a new artist of the week to listen too.

Books - The Foundation Trilogy

When I was at University there was nothing more I like to do on a quite evening and after my work sit down with a good book. At one point I would read a book cover to cover in just a few days and a whole series in just over a week. As the years have gone and I started to needed reading glasses my reading for pleasure has really disappeared as an alternative to television and radio.  

When I was looking through the bookshelves I came across a series of books that I have never got round to reading, the original Foundation trilogy penned by Isaac Asimov. There is no reason I have never read them other than I never got round to it and now the nights are drawing in this is an idea time to put on the glass and a sit down with a good book and given that Asimov is considered one the greatest science fiction writers that has ever lived there are no excuses for not reading them at some point.

The books are  based around predictions of the fall of the Galactic Empire by the mathematician Hari Seldon and a branch of mathermatics called psychohistory and what he does to shorten the period of the dark age that follows. They are based on a planet called Terminus and the work of the people working there on an Encyclopedia who are unaware of the future and their role in it as predicted and manipulated by Seldon. All in all it is a fascinating concept with the mixture of plausible science mixed with a good story. I'm really looking forward to sitting down with a book and just getting lost in the pages and the world they create. 

Another Busy Day

With us going away for a few days it turned out to be a very busy one with lots of odd little things to do before we went away, including packing. All the same Lucy didn't mind and was just happy to be with me and despite that and the weather managed to find some time for play inside and out.

When I awoke the day was wet and grey and not the sunny day I was hoping for, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from having a nice day. After a shower, a shave and of course a cup of coffee it was off out to Oakham to pick up little Lucy. I was hoping to take her to the park on the way home but given the weather that was out of the question. She didn't seemed too disappointed when I said we couldn't go and just chatted all the way home. 

Our morning was spent around the house just playing games and having cuddles. The game of choice today was her wooden train set and I set up the track in the family room and joined in with her game. She loves playing trains and when she gets a bit older I will have to show her some of the OO gauge trains I had as a kid that I still have in boxes around the house. Emily has a train set and we can run them on her track, although I think I will keep the much smaller N gauge trains from her until she is much older.

At lunchtime we headed off to the shops and picked up a bite to eat on the way. There were various things we needed to get for later in the day and on the way back we went to Northfields farm to buy some home made cake from the farm shop.

We hadn't been to the farm in ages and given the season it was lovely to find some piglets and their mum feeding under a warming lamp. I just didn't expect it and Lucy loved it. Lucy soon found the toys in the children's pets area and settled down to play with them. It was like nothing had changed since we had been there last for her and she just carried on were she left off. 

With homemade cake from the farm shop we headed home for the rest of the afternoon. It was funny how Lucy wanted to pick up Emily from school on the way home despite telling her that she was at her mummies with Catherine until the weekend. She misses them when she doesn't see them and always tells them that she loves them that I think is really sweet.

Once we were home it was back to playing for Lucy while I got dinner ready for everyone and did a bit of packing. We had shepherds pie for dinner with a tomato based gravy packed with meat and vegetables to make it into a complete meal in a pie. It went down well although it could have done with being a bit more beefy for my taste.

After dinner there was a little more time for play before time caught up with us and Lucy had to go home and the long drive ahead. We manage to play phones and shops for a bit before Lucy left us and after a speedy drop off it back home before heading out again and a two hundred drive to South Wales.

I had a lovely day and it is only a week until Lucy Birthday and I still haven't finalised on what I'm going to get her. Whatever it is it will be something that I hope she gets a lot of use out of it. I have loads of ideas and it is bound to be special. She is one the people I love with all my heart and soul. 

Artist of the Week - Rufus Wainwright

This week is once again a single artist as opposed to a band that makes the artist of the week spot. This time it is the turn of Rufus Wainwright a Canadian/American singer noted for his original music and his work on film sound tracks.

Many will know him mainly through his work in films like Moulin Rouge, Shrek, meet the Robinson's and many more , although you might not know his name you will certainly know his voice it so distinctive. I first came across in the Moulin Rouge where he sang the song "La Complainte De La Butte" so beautifully that it was almost magical in it rendition. It was this song that really made me find out about him and seek out more of his music. 

Rufus Wainwrigh was born in 1973 into a very musical family. He took up the piano at 6 and by the age of 13 he was touring with a folk group made up of members of his family. It wasn't long before he was noticed and between the ages of 14 and 17 he was nominated for a number of awards and was recording music for films. Since then his career has gone from strength to strength both as a singer and as a composer. This portfolio of work includes an opera and a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's sonnets and eight albums and two DVDs as well appearing on various soundtracks. 

Although a lot of the music matches the mood of late night listening it will match a lot of the driving I have to do this week which will be mainly in the evening. I suggest you settle down with a good book if you don't have to drive put your feet up and enjoy the music. I know I will be as I drive around. 

Psychoville - Halloween Special

Back in June 2009 I started watching a programme called "Phychoville" by the people who made the excellent television series and film "The League of Gentlemen. Unfortunately only one series has been made to date, however there is a Halloween Special being broadcast and even better after that there is the second series to be aired in the spring next year to look forward to.

The original series was billed as a "dark character comedy mystery" by the BBC and it certainly lived up to it billing with it story based around characters all around the country all of whom have been been blackmailed by "Black Gloved Man" who are given the messages saying "I know what you did....".  As the series progresses more messages are delivered and the plot thickens to what the blackmailer actually knows. It is an amazing piece of television and well deserved the best new TV comedy award it won in 2009.

If you would like to watch this one off special it is on BBC2 on Sunday 31st October at 10pm. You can catch the trailer here. I'm sure to be watching and I hope it lives up to the hight hopes I have for it after watching the trailer on the BBC website.

X-Factor - Act of the Week

This week it is hard choice to decide who pick for the top three. There were a number of really good performances. There were a number of artists that are really starting to show promise and are developing and these include One Direction and Treyc Cohen and they could be the dark horses of the show. Mary Byren, who was one of the people that were mentioned last week as being in the top three, really needs to rethink what she is doing. She has an amazing voice but it feels like she would be better off on "Britain's Got Talent".

Tonight's top three for me was out of Rebecca Ferguson  Matt Cardle and Aiden Grimshaw all of which I thought were amazing tonight. In the end the the choice of the act of the week fell almost evenly between the two boys. It was really hard to pick between them but in the end the fact that Matt made the Britney Spears song his own won the day. His version has so much more felling than the original which always seemed to me just to be a pop song swung it for me in the end. He brought out the real meaning of the song that I had missed before and can relate too as many of us can. I really love Aiden and Rebecca but at the moment Matt has the edge. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

Busy Friday

Given it is a school holiday here Rutland it was an early start for everyone because today I had to go to Huntington in Cambridgeshire to talk to a college there for some work they might have for me. The day was so full of promise and only one thing got in the way of it being a wonderful day, the problem was that thing is so important to me. 

We all got up just after eight thirty and rushed around like mad things to get ready to leave just at just after half past nine. Along the way I had to go to Oakham early to get our little Lucy. She seemed really surprised to see my new hair cut and said she loved it. When I got her to the car she just wanted to touch it. It was all rather sweet. I love seeing her so happy when I go to get her. It just warms my heart. Today she was all dressed for winter with gloves, scarf and hat and she looked so adorable. When she is like that you just want to give her a lovely big cuddle because she is so cute.

As soon as Lucy and I got back to Langham it was into hurrying people along mode. Emily was the worse and somehow I didn't notice she still have her pajamas bottoms on when she was meant to be dressed. She was so busy doing her "Baking Life" that she had forgot about the time, but we soon had her ready and we all headed out in the car to Stamford and then down the A1 to Huntingdon. A trip of about 50 minutes thanks to the fast roads that make the drive an easy one.

We arrived in Huntingdon just after ten forty five with fifteen minutes to spare. Thankfully unlike the city centre college in Nottingham this college had plenty of parking and I soon had everyone out of the car and they all settled down to wait from me in the café. I thought we were going have a lot of trouble with Lucy being parted from me, so before we arrived we were all careful to tell her what was going to happen. In the past when I have left her even to get money from the cash point where she can see me ends it in tears if I don't take her with me. She just doesn't like it if she I leave her, I guess it because the situation. It just sad it is like this for her, but nothing can be done to resolve it. It is just something she will have to get use to. However today our plan worked by using distraction and she didn't cry although she did cling to Catherine for dear life and kept asking where I was. 

The meeting went well although I don't know if I will get any work from it, but fingers crossed I will although it won't be much if I do. It seems a lovely college and the people there are so welcoming. Clearly they don't have the financial worries of Nottingham and they haven't fallen into the same funding trap with building work that many of the other colleges fell into when promises were made and then the funding was withdrawn. They seem to have big plans for the future so it going to be a place where jobs might come up so it is one to watch. Being just off the A1 it is a place I could possibly work one day if I can get a position there.

As a special treat we all went out to lunch at KFC on the way back to Rutland. They hadn't all had a meal out together in ages and it seemed a nice thing to do after being so good at the college while they waited for me. We stopped at Peterborough Services just off the A1(M) in Cambridgeshire. It a good place to take a family and the food costs the same as the high street. The only downside of going there is the noise. The design of the building doesn't help in that it seems to amplify the sounds of people talking. It a bit like being in an auditorium. While we were their I changed Lucy and some of the things she said really made me smile. She really warms my heart with what she says.

Before leaving there we took Lucy off to the play area to let off some steam. I was amazed when she remembered where it was as we hadn't taken her there for ages. She loved the bendy slide especially when her big sisters joined in on the fun. Up the ladder she would go and slide back down again followed by Emily then Catherine. It was lovely to see them play like that again, it seems a long time since we have been to the park together we just haven't had the weather for it. 

Before we finally got home we popped into the supermarket for some food for dinner. Lucy as usual was helpful in getting things for me that we needed and was really good at holding onto the trolly so she didn't get lost. As I have said she such a delight to go shopping with and always keeps me amused when we are on our own in the shop.

When we got home we got a really warm welcome form George who had been clearly missing us all. You can tell that by the way he gets so excited and starts following everyone around. When he settled on the sofa in the family room Lucy gave him the biggest of hugs. After this they all settled down to play. At one point Emily wen off with Charlie and George and Catherine was playing on the computer with Lucy. It was just so nice after being so busy for the day to sit with them and join in there games as I took myself into the family room to enjoy the fun, but time is so short and soon I was getting Lucy ready to return after dinner.

On the way back to Oakham with Lucy we both played spot the moon. She really has a thing about it and even on the brightest sunny day she asks where it is. So you can imagine her delight when it peeked from behind a cloud and said hello to her. It is lovely and bright at the moment since the full moon is in the early hours of the tomorrow morning. It's funny to think that I find the moon special too.

After dropping Lucy off in Oakham in what turned out to be a big rush it was off to the supermarket to get some essentials we had run out of like coffee and sugar which had completely slipped my mind earlier in the day. I never like dropping her off and leaving her. I guess it because I was there for her when she was so small and just a baby all the time and my bond with her is so strong.

When I got home I got a really waggly tail welcome from George who was waiting for his dinner. He such a character now the way he asks of things and dances around and is always so happy. I don't think I have ever had such a happy dog before. As Catherine and Emily were packing for there mums and Manor adventure as I fed George tonight which is normally one of there little jobs they do around the house.

It must have taken them at least an hour to pack so who knows how much stuff they are taking to the their mums. Probably half the bedroom and the kitchen sink. After they finished they went off into the family room to listen to music and play games until it was time to quieten down before they finally going to bed. 

It was a wonderful morning and Lucy was so good, in fact they all were and I'm so proud to have such lovely children. I have really been blessed that way. They are not perfect but I love them all. It was just at the end of the day that I felt deflated, it was like everything that made the day so good was taken away. May be it just that I'm tired or maybe something bigger but I know tomorrow is another day and who knows what it or the future will bring. Love is the most important thing in life and that is all that matters. 

It was a busy day that was for sure and I will sleep well tonight and hopefully dream of nice things and maybe one day those dreams will come true. 

What Next?

Already in Rutland the local press is starting to ask what happens next after the Government effectively removed on of the area's largest employers to pay for the mistakes made by the Banks and pay off the loans they took out to bail them out. At the moment the talk is all about the airforce base that we are losing but that is only the start.

Soon we will have all the public sector jobs that go in Local Government to contend with too. The whole thing seems a big gamble. They talk about the private sector creating jobs as the economy to get people back to work, but the question is what happens if that growth doesn't come along because of the cuts they have made. I fear that they have cut to deep and the knock on effect is going to be a slowing of growth that could cause another recession and make an even bigger problem for the future. The bankers that caused this mess have got away with murder and we are the ones paying for their mistakes.